Vauxhall convenor fights craft claim

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have been at the forefront of the fight for pay in Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant.

But as a minority of the 5,000 strong AUEW membership, their demands have been repeatedly blocked by Convenor John Turnbull and production stewards.

A failure last winter to get agreement on a common claim with production workers led the skilied men to withdraw from the AUEW stewards committee. They have held spearate meetings ever since.

Shortly afterwards, a sixweek strike took place demanding a separate skilled grade and restoration of differentials.

Committee

This ended lamely at Christmas with a pathetic offer from management and an agreement to set up a "relativities' committee to "look into" differentials.

This committee recently produced its report, and the craft combine committee is demanding it be implemented.

This craft combine committee has also met with representatives of craftsmen from A.C. Delco in Liverpool and Southampton, forming a new General Motors Craft Combine Committee (GMCCC).

At its first meeting on September 18, this new committee passed resolution threatening strike action if there is no new offer made by the Vauxhall Joint Negotiating Committee on Tuesday 26 September.

This has spurred AUEW officials into action to crush any fight on pay. Local District Secretary Keech has come to the aid of Ellesmere Port convenor Turnbull and instructed the skilled men to use only the conventional shop stewards committee.

And in a bid to stem the wages movement represented by the craftsmen, Turnbull has held a mass meeting, calling for an unspecified across-the-board percentage offer, threatening strike action.

The motion was carried unanimously. But clearly Turnbull and the AUEW bureaucracy are less interested in fighting for wages than in heading off the solid support for the unofficial craft comittee.

Turnbull has even sent a resolution from his branch to the AUEW District Committee calling for action to be taken against the unofficial GMCCC for establishing contact with plants outside Vauxhall!

The campaign to save Bethnal Green Hospital received a major boost last week when two East End hospitals voted to take industrial action if any start was made in converting the hospital into a small geriatric unit.

The London Hospital, at a mass meeting on Wednesday attended by 600 workers, voted to begin a 'go-slow' from the moment the Area Health Authority carry out their threat to use non-union labour to begin the conversion of empty wards (including Surgical wards) into geriatric wards.

A similar meeting at Mile End, another neighbouring hosThe 30 workers on pital, voted to work to rule, and both hospitals have agreed to send emergency pickets if the conversion is begun.

Another important step was taken by the Building Trades section of the S.E. region of the TUC when they agreed to black all supplies and services to the contractor who takes on the job of converting the hospital, using 'lump' labour.

These moves reflect a major and progressive change in the direction of the hospital campaign.

The Workers Socialist League, both in Socailist Press and in all meetings and conferences about the hospital, has consistently argued that the fight must be taken into the labour movement-and Chief axeman Ennals especially the hospital unionsfor action to save Bethnal Green.

This is in opposition to depending on the publicity stunts and appeals to public sympathy which have characterised the campaign so far.

These latest moves show that the Bethnal Green stewards have taken important preliminary steps in that direction.

Important as these measures are, however, it would be unwise to regard them as anything more than a start.

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For the past 18 months, the 1,000 skilled craftsmen